Before I say anything positive or negative about social media or social networking, I'm going to say that I am not only a user, but a big fan of social media and social networking. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, and Snapchat.
There are obvious dangers to social networking, for instance someone can take your pictures and use them as their own, they can steal your identity if you have your full name and enough other information on your page, and last but not least, they can find out where you live and come to find you for various reasons. While those dangers should 'wave a red flag,' there are also precautions that you can use to avoid such situations. Each social network that I have listed can be put to the setting 'private' so that only the people that you approve can see your stuff. Still, that is not fool proof, because some people will add people that they are not sure that they actually know.
Here are some of the cons that I found about social media. First, it has been seen as a means of distractions and people end up not socializing in public with their friends when they are together for real. This is very unfortunate, because they could be making real memories instead of making a Facebook post that gets a bunch of likes. Second, I've found this out personally, social media just tears through the usual data plan for cell phones, and doesn't allow you to utilize other features that may be needed on your phone, such as the navigation app. Last, social media inadvertently causes you to 'miss out' on life, because you are trying so hard to get so many likes or retweets or followers that you forget about the important stuff, like spending time with loved ones, playing with your pets, doing homework, or even studying so that you don't fail your next biology test. I have found that social media not only connects you to your friends, but it has made procrastinating much easier, depending on how many sites you have an account on, you can be busy doing nothing for a full hour before you realize that you 'were going to start studying soon.'
There are some major pros for social networking that I found or realized as well though. For instance, I have two cousins who are or were over seas. One is a Marine, his name is Eli, and right before he was deployed, his wife had a baby. Facebook allows him to keep up with his wife and son. It breaks my heart that that is the only way other than Skype that they are able to communicate. My other cousin, Michael, was overseas with the military for a year and just got back in December, I have only met him once in real life, because his mom and my uncle are no longer together, but I am able to keep up and catch up with him via Facebook. I look up to both of those young men for what they do for our country, and so Facebook provides a great medium for them to communicate to us through. Also, like I said earlier there are some cousins that I have that I do not know very well, because while my uncle means well, he probably isn't the best role model. I am able to connect to those cousins, and other family members through social media, and that is my main use for each site that I have an account on.
Eli, his wife Adrian, and their baby Zane.
Michael and his grandma who passed away this year.
I have found a website article on ehow.com that explains how to avoid social networking abuse, so that you can continue to utilize your pages to connect with old friends, distant relatives, and the people you work with.
The other link that I have posted below is an article of statistics about the various forms of social media that I found to be interesting, because being the owner of just one page on each social media site you don't realize how much people use their accounts.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2390794_prevent-social-network-abuse.html
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-social-media-stats-2013/
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